Simulated animated toy flower



Oct. 14, 1969 N. R. CHERRY ETA!- 3,471,954

SIMULATED ANIMATED TOY FLOWER Filed April 26, 1967 INVENTORS NANCY REY CHERRY JUDlTH ANN SHACKELFORD BY z 50 ATTORNEY.

United States Patent US. Cl. 46-116 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A simulated toy flower whose petals may be actuated between an open bud and a closed bud position thereby feigning blossoming of the flower.

The present invention pertains to toys, and more particularly to a simulated flower device which produces an animated effect.

Background of the invention The commercial success and acceptance of a toy is crucially dependent upon the attractiveness of the toy to a user, primarily and almost exclusively a child. This attractiveness is created when the appearance and effect provided by the toy is cleverly and imaginatively conceived and fabricated, entailing a certain indefinable quality that stimulates the attention and interest of a child. This quality is necessarily of a fanciful and intangible nature, but requires both a commercial as well as an aesthetic achievement.

A further aspect of this area of endeavor, which increases the degree of skill and inventiveness which must be imparted in the creation of a new toy, is the fact that the mechanical or functional means by which the toy is fabricated and used must not only enhance and effectuate the aesthetic objectives of the toy, but must also provide a structure which is simple and economical to manufacture. That is, the mechanical or tangible means used to give material expression to the aesthetic essence of the toy must conform to the economic and technical realities of the commercial environment involved.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toy which is aesthetically and fancifully attractive and which involves a structure simple and economical to manufacture and assemble enhancing the aesthetic and fanciful essence of the toy while imparting tangible materialization thereto.

Summary of the invention Briefly, the present invention, in one aspect thereof, comprises a toy which is a simulated flower having petals which may be activated to an open bud or a closed bud position by manipulation of an actuating member which may be the stem portion, thereby feigning blossoming of the flower.

By another aspect of the present invention, the central or pistil portion of the flower may comprise a fanciful or toylike object, such as a doll, which is enclosed by the petals when they are in the closed bud position, and which is exposed to view when the petals are in the open bud position.

Brief description of the drawings An understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the simulated flower of the present invention with the petals in the closed bud position;

3,471,964 Patented Oct. 14, 1969 FIGURE 2 is an isometric view showing the petals in the open bud position;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of the flower with the petals in the closed bud position;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

Description of the preferred embodiments The drawings illustrate a simulated flower, the major portions of which are manufactured from any suitable plastic material such as polypropylene, polyethylene or the like, comprising a bud section 10, a stern section 12 and a pot or base section 14.

The pot section 14 is formed of a truncated conical section 16 and an upper rim 18 so as to simulate an ordinary flower pot. The pot section 14 may be made from any suitable plastic material and includes a circular base member 20 which is spaced somewhat from the bottom of conical section 16 and which has an opening at its center defined by cylindrical wall 22. Four upstanding planar members 24 are mounted within pot section 14 and are spaced apart at the center of section 14 a distance suflicient to allow for positioning therebetween of a stop member 26 and a metal rod 28.

The stop member 26 includes a central cylindrically shaped portion 30 and a disk shaped portion 32 formed integrally therewith. The disc portion 32 includes slots defined by side walls 34, there being a number of slots equal to the number of planar members 24 provided, in this case four of each, with the width of each slot being appropriate to permit passage therethrough of the width of a planar member 24.

The stop member 26 is affixed by any suitable means to a hollow elongated tube 36 which surrounds the metal rod 28 and which has affixed at its opposite end, by any suitable means, a cup element 38. The base of cup element 38 is formed with a cylindrically shaped portion 40, which extends into tube 36, and an enlarged cylindrically shaped portion 42 extending exteriorly of tube 36. The inner walls 44 and 46 of stop member 26 and cylindrical portion 40, respectively, are sized to permit snug sliding frictional engagement with metal rod 28.

The lower end of rod 28 which is bent at a right angle, is firmly aflixed to circular base member 20 by a spring clip 48 or any other suitable means. The upper end of rod 28, which is formed with a hooked portion 49, has mounted thereon a plurality of flexible petal members 50, a spring member 52 and a pedestal 54, all of which may be firmly aflixed to rod 28 by any suitable means, such as a spring clip 56.

A doll 58 or other fanciful toylike object may be removably mounted upon pedestal 54 by any suitable means such as by a press fit between upstanding walls 60 of pedestal 54.

The petal members 50 may be formed of many suitable plastic materials, such as polypropylene, well known to those skilled in the art, and they must provide suitable flexibility to enable them to be brought from the closed bud position shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, to the open bud position shown in FIGURE 2. Actuation of the petals 50 between these two positions is accomplished by appropriately positioning the stem section 12.

Assuming the device to be in the closed bud position illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3, it will be noted that in order for the bud section 10 to remain in this condition the stem section 12 must be rotated so that the slots 34 in stop member 26 are misaligned with planar members 24 as clearly shown in FIGURE 4. With the stem section 12 in this position, the planar members 24 engage stop member 26 between the slots 34 and thereby prevent or block downward movement of the stem section 12.

The cup 38 will be in its uppermost position whereat it encloses the lower portions of petals 50 and gathers the petals together against the downward biasing force of spring 52 thereby placing and holding the bud section in the closed position. With the bud in this position, the doll 58 will be totally enclosed and out of sight.

When it is desired to place the bud section 10 in the open position shown in FIGURE 2, and thereby expose to view the doll 58, it is merely necessary to rotate the stem section 12 to align the slots 34 with planar members 24. This will permit the members 24 to pass between slots 34 permitting stop member 26 to slide downwardly along members 24 with cup 38 and stem section 12 being propelled downwardly initially by the action of spring 52 and then manually to its lowermost position. With the stem 12 in its lowermost position, the petals 50 will be deflected downwardly and will extend radially outwardly as shown in FIGURE 2, thereby creating the effect of a flower that had budded or blossomed and exposing to view the doll 58.

Depending upon the material used to form petals 50, and its ability to retain its resilience and flexibility, the spring member 52 may be dispensed with. If the petals 50 are formed of such material that they may be retained in the closed bud position, shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, for extended periods of time, as for example during storage or shipping, without hardening or setting in that position and without losing the ability to thereafter flex to the open position merely by virtue of the resiliency and springiness of the material itself, then the spring member 52 would be unnecessary. Otherwise a spring member 52 must be provided which may be formed in a variety of suitable shapes such as the one shown in FIGURE 5, which comprises a plurality of nose-like sections 62 normally tending to remain in a flat, extended position, and which when bent upwardly to the position indicated in FIGURE 3 will act to bias the petal member 50 downwardly to the open bud position.

What is claimed is:

1. A simulated toy flower for giving an animated effect comprising a bud section including a plurality of radially extending flexible petal members adapted to be actuated between an open bud and a closed bud position, a stem section including a hollow elongated tube with a petal actuating cup at one end and a circular slotted stop member at the opposite end, a base member simulating a flower pot including a plurality of upstanding planar sections, a metal rod extending through said hollow tube and aflixed at opposite ends to said base member and to said bud section, and a spring member aflixed to said bud section biasing said petal members to said open bud position, said stern section being rotatable and axially movable between an upper and a lower position, rotation of said stem section when in said upper position to misalign said slots in said stop member from said planar sections operating to lock said stem section in said upper position against the bias of said spring member by abutment of said stop member against said planar sections whereby said cup member actuates and holds said petal members to said closed bud position, rotation of said stem section to align said slots with said planar sections operating to permit said stem section to move to said lower position with said slots sliding along said planar 6 sections and said cup moving away from said bud section to permit said petal members to be actuated to said open bud position by said spring member.

2. A simulated toy flower according to claim 1 comprising a fanciful toy object removably mounted Within said bud section to be enclosed and exposed, respectively, as said petal members move to said closed bud or open bud positions.

3. A simulated flower comprising a bud section being provided with flexible petal members, a toy object mounted within said bud section, and means for actuating said petal members between an open bud and a closed bud position, said toy object being enclosed and exposed respectively as said petal members are moved from said closed bud to said open bud positions.

4. A simulated flower according to claim 3 wherein said actuating means is comprised of a movable stem section.

5. A simulated flower according to claim 4 wherein said stem section comprises cup means at one end thereof adjacent said petal members, said cup means positioned with its open side toward said petal members, and movable with said stem section toward said petal members to enclose portions thereof gathering said petal members together to effect said closed bud position, and movable away from said petal members to effect said open bud position.

6. A simulated flower according to claim 5 comprising stop means adapted to hold said cup means to maintain said petal members in said closed bud position.

7. A simulated flower according to claim 4 comprising spring means mounted within said bud section biasing said petal members to the open bud position and adapted to be flexed against said bias by said actuating means when said petal members are placed in the closed bud position.

8. A simulated flower according to claim 6 wherein said stem section comprises a hollow elongated tube with a metal rod extending therethrough, said metal rod being firmly affixed at one end to said petal members, said tube having firmly afiixed thereto said stop means at one end and said cup means at the opposite, and being axially moveable to actuate said petal members between said open and closed bud positions.

9. A simulated flower according to claim 8 wherein said stop means comprise a slotted disc firmly affixed to said hollow tube and planar means firmly afiixed to said metal rod, said tube being rotable to align and misalign said slots and said planar means, said slots being shaped to permit passage of said planar means therethrough.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,148,208 7/1915 Allison 161-17 1,916,988 7/1933 Pieschke 161-17 XR 2,096,410 10/1937 Siegert 161-28 XR 2,922,253 1/ 1960 Carter 46-116 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 945,732 4/ 1947 France.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner H. DINIT Z, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 272-8 

